Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporate Ritu Tawde is set to become the next mayor of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which is India's richest civic board, after she was named as Mahayuti's mayoral candidate in Mumbai on Saturday. In addition, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shankar Ghadi has been named Mahayuti's deputy mayor candidate.
The mayoral and the deputy mayoral elections will take place at the BMC headquarters in Mumbai on February 11 (Wednesday). Tawde and Ghadi are set to become the next mayor and deputy mayor, as the Mahayuti has a clear majority in the 227-member BMC.
Who is Ritu Tawde?
A senior BJP leader in India's financial capital, Tawde is a three time corporator. She was first elected to the BMC from 2012 from ward number 127. In 2017, she was again elected to the BMC, but from ward number 121. In the BMC elections 2026, which were held on January 15, she was elected from ward number 132. Previously, she had served as the chairperson of the BMC education committee.
According to BJP insiders, Tawde is quite active at the grassroot level and has massive experience in dealing with publish issues. She is also famous for engaging with locals. Notably, Tawde was initially in Congress and had joined the saffron party only in 2012. With Tawde's nomination, the BJP is set to have its own mayor in Mumbai in around 40 years.
Who has edge in BMC?
The BJP-Shiv Sena coalition has a clear edge in the BMC, with 118 seats, four more than the majority mark of 114. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has three seats, and adding its numbers will increase the Mahayuti's tally to 121. The NCP is a member of the ruling coalition but had contested the BMC elections separately.
Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) is the second largest party with 65 seats. It is followed by Congress with 24 seats. Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the NCP(SP) have six and one seat, respectively. The Congress, the NCP(SP) and the Shiv Sena (UBT) are part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). While the Shiv Sena contested in alliance with the MNS, the Congress and the NCP(SP) had gone solo in the BMC polls.
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